‘It is noted’: Palace reacts to Marcos' low survey ratings

Malacañang on Thursday, 15 October, offered little comment on the latest Pulse Asia survey showing that 49 percent of Filipinos disapproved of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s performance, while 48 percent expressed distrust in him.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said she had not discussed the survey results with the President.

“Where did it come from? Pulse Asia. Hindi namin napag-usapan ng Pangulo ang panibagong survey results na ito. Pero, it is noted,” Castro said during a Palace press briefing.

The survey also showed Vice President Sara Duterte maintaining higher ratings than Marcos, with 54 percent of respondents approving of her performance and 55 percent expressing trust in her.

Castro had previously maintained that the President would continue performing his duties regardless of survey results.

She also criticized unnamed public officials who, she said, spent time traveling abroad instead of addressing the country's pressing problems.

Impeachment spending questioned

Meanwhile, Castro rejected suggestions that public funds had been wasted on three impeachment articles against Duterte that prosecutors subsequently withdrew.

The issue was raised by Office of the Vice President spokesperson Paolo Panelo Jr., who questioned the millions of pesos spent on proceedings involving charges that would no longer be put to a vote.

“Kung nagkaroon man ng withdrawal ng three articles of impeachment, ito po ay nasa pagpapasya ng prosecution. Kung may nasayang bang oras, depende na po siguro sa tao kung paano nila titingnan ito dahil mayroon naman din pong naisiwalat na mga dokumento, may mga government officials na nag-participate at naging witness sa nasabing mga araw,” Castro said.

She argued that the hearings had produced evidence and testimony relevant to the public, regardless of the prosecution's eventual decision to withdraw the charges.

Castro also claimed that Duterte's defense team had not objected to the withdrawal of the three articles.

“At ang pag-withdraw naman ng three articles of impeachment ay hindi naman nakitaan ng pagtutol mula sa defense team. Pareho naman silang nag-participate – nagkaroon ng cross-examination nang mahaba; nagkaroon ng presentation ng prosecution and then after that, nagkaroon ng cross-examination; nagkaroon ng rebuttal, surrebuttal. So, lahat po ng concerned parties ay nag-participate. So, walang maaaring masabing nasayang kung mayroon namang naipakitang mga facts, data na maaaring makapagpaliwanag sa taumbayan,” she said.

Mistrial claim rejected

Castro also disputed suggestions of a possible mistrial raised by Duterte's lead defense counsel, Sheila Sison.

She argued that the defense had been given sufficient opportunities to question prosecution witnesses and challenge the evidence presented.

“Ang mistrial kasi kapag sinabi natin, the other party was not given any chance to present herself; he was not given the chance to present evidence. Kung hindi nagkaroon ng cross-examination, the other party was not given a chance to cross-examine the witnesses presented, then that's the time we can say there's a mistrial. Pero sa sitwasyon na ito, walang masasabing mistrial because they were given ample time and opportunities to cross-examine the witnesses presented by the prosecution. Again, the defense team did not make any objection regarding the motion to withdraw the three articles of impeachment,” Castro explained.

The impeachment trial is proceeding on Article 2, involving allegations of unexplained wealth against Duterte.

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